Date of Conferral

2015

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Public Policy and Administration

Advisor

Lydia Forsythe

Abstract

The expansion of health insurance through health care reform has reduced the number of uninsured. but access to providers has not been addressed. Understanding the relationship between practice choices and aptitude of health policy and delivery is essential to determine other factors or motivators that contribute to the development of health care access policies. This descriptive study explored the value-laden elements of health care reform, such as social constructions, to learn whether there are implicit ways to address the issue of access to health care in the United States. Schneider and Ingrams's conceptualization of policy making through social construction was used as the theoretical lens of this study. The research questions for the study examined the relationship between a provider's choices and their knowledge of health policy and delivery. This non-experimental, quantitative survey study used a convenience sample of 189 providers. The survey was a compilation of 4 existing instruments that were used to capture provider demographics and choices as well as scaled questions to assess knowledge. Data were analyzed through a series of chi-square tests. Significant relationships were found (p < .05) between the variables of specialty, medical licensure, and understanding of health policy and delivery concepts. This study contributes to social change by suggesting the need for health policy and delivery education programs geared towards providers. These changes could improve the level of provider engagement and be a catalyst for generating ideas of how the U.S. health care system could achieve the goal of providing efficient, high-quality care.

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